205 Live (WWE brand)

This article is about the WWE brand. For the television program, see WWE 205 Live.

205 Live (pronounced as "two-o-five live") is a brand of the U.S. based professional wrestling promotion WWE. Unlike other WWE brands, 205 Live is specifically centered on male wrestlers that are promoted as weighing 205 lbs. and under – designated by WWE as cruiserweights.

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WWE 205 Live was established following the success of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, to feature those who competed in the tournament and others who have become full-time members of WWE's cruiserweight division. Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE executive producer and wrestler, stated the brand is designed to serve as a showcase for the division, with its own distinctive feel and style compared to WWE's other brands.[1]

In January 2018, Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over the creative side of 205 Live.[5] On January 30, 2018, with Drake Maverick (formerly known as "Rockstar Spud" from Impact Wrestling) being announced as the inaugural 205 Live general manager.[6] Maverick would announce a 16-man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was won by Cedric Alexander. Once the tournament begun, WWE's cruiserweight division began to wrestle exclusively on 205 Live and ceased to appear on Raw with select exceptions. Namely, Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik, and Lince Dorado) began competing in Raw's tag team division while Lio Rush and Drake Maverick began managing Raw superstars Bobby Lashley and AOP (Akam and Rezar), respectively, and occasionally competing in matches on Raw. Even though Maverick portrayed a heel while managing AOP on Raw, on 205 Live, he is a face general manager.[5]

Just prior to NXT moving to the USA Network, NXT head Triple H spoke with Newsweek on September 10, 2019 and was asked about 205 Live becoming part of NXT. Triple H said "You'll start to see 205 begin to". He said that 205 Live's talent will start to move towards NXT, that 205 Live had "become lost in this limbo", and that the Cruiserweight Championship would have more meaning on NXT where it could create more opportunities for the cruiserweight wrestlers.[7]